Complete Dentures

Complete Denture

Like many things in life, the importance of something is never truly appreciated until it is gone. If you’ve lost your teeth, whether due to injury, tooth decay or gum disease, you surely understand. The good news is that you have options to replace them. Dentures can help restore your way of life by helping you with day-to-day functions, such as eating and speaking, as well as help restore your confidence by improving your appearance and smile.

Making a denture is a process that usually takes about 6-12 weeks, however this can vary from one patient to another.

It also depends on the type of the denture and the technique the dentist or the laboratory technician uses to make the denture.

Denture Treatment Process
Complete dentures are made using your mouth as a model. First, the dentist will take an accurate impression of the upper and lower arches of your mouth. This impression is then sent to the dental laboratory.

At the next visit, the dentist will record the relationship of the arches that best resembles your original bite and helps you select the shape and color of the denture teeth and gums. Keep in mind the color of everyone’s gums varies. To make a more natural denture the dentist will help you choose the shade that best matches your mouth.

In the subsequent visits the dentist will adjust your bite, test your speech and check the appearance and functionality of the denture teeth and gums. After a satisfactory fit and appearance is achieved, the denture is then sent back to the laboratory for fabrication.

Denture Complications
While every effort is made to make a good and functional denture, please keep in mind that there is no such thing as a perfect denture. After delivery of the denture, it may require a few adjustment visits and some time for you and your new denture to adapt to each other. The most important point to remember is that adjusting to your new dentures is a process; it sometimes takes a little time to get used to.

A new denture can also alter your eating and speaking habits and it may require a bit of practicing before you get comfortable.

Finally, due to differences in the shapes of the jaws and the strong muscle movement of the tongue and cheek, a lower denture may be harder to keep in the mouth compared to an upper denture.

Different Denture Options
There are new advances in making dentures. One such advance is an implant-supported denture that stabilizes the denture. This kind of denture requires the placement of implants in your mouth before making the denture.